Picking a Realtor

Need advice quickly. I'm going on my second realtor or I should say looking for my second realtor since I got burned by my first one and had to remove house from market and now the potential set I was looking to hire are being very controlling and there's no give and take nor wanting to communicate back and forth only wanting to tell me what to do...their way or the highway kind of deal. Last I thought, I was the one who was paying their commission and would think there should be mutual respect. My trust in realtors right now is SO LOW and would like to hear from realtors who are truly wanting to work with potential clients and give them the BEST outcome possible as well as what I should be looking for and how to weed out the ones who are out for themselves. Would also like to hear from seasoned sellers, too, on this subject. I appreciate honesty, but not trying to slyly put things in a contract that shouldn't be there as well as ask me what or how I think about A, B and C. I also want to add that it seems that all the realtors I have contacted say that "THEY are the TOP agents with the most sales" and I feel like I can't trust reviews necessarily because just like anything these days you can get friends and family as well as yourself...the realtor...writing these reviews. I went based on reviews before and got completely burned. Thank you!!

Re: Picking a Realtor

I would agree that you should only choose a realtor you feel comfortable with. Communication should definitely work both ways and your thoughts/concerns, etc, should feel heard and acknowledged. My husband and I worked with two realtors to sell our last home. The first was a man my husband and his family knew (but not a close friend of the family). We were less than impressed with how he handled putting our home on the market. We didn't renew our contract with him once it was up. The second realtor we worked with had recently sold homes in our neighborhood, so we thought he would have a better perspective, approach, etc. We were much happier with him, and he found us a buyer.

Re: Picking a Realtor

I would definitely keep looking until you find someone you feel comfortable working with. It's so important that you work with a realtor you trust and who you feel actually communicates well with you. I might try asking any friends or family in your area if they have recommendations!

Re: Picking a Realtor

The first piece of advice I am going to give you is don't be afraid to list with an agent that is not a "Top" seller since most of the top agents don't have time for you, they have a lot of listings. An agent who doesn't have a lot of listings will work for you and tend to be more attentive to your needs. It is a good idea for your agent to conduct open houses because it is a good way expose your home to the public. Talk to some agents who aren't top and find one that is a good fit for you then discuss your expectations with them before signing a contract. There should be nothing added in to the listing contract that has not been covered in your discussion. That being said, there are usually some processing fees that some companies charge but they will still be discussed with you before the signing. Go with your guts and hopefully you will be able to get an agent that works well with you.

One of the top sellers that I know was a top seller because he would list the houses $20k-30k below market and of course it would sell much faster however now the seller just gave away $30k in hard earned equity. I would always ask are you willing to wait a couple more months for $30k? I know I would so as you pretty much seem to be inclined to do, take that top seller billing with a grain of salt. This guy was a really nice guy but all of his clients complained that he was rude and arrogant and I saw that a lot from him. If you didn't like the job he was doing you could just go find somebody else because he didn't have time to 'babysit' you and didn't care if he lost your listing or not, it really was his way or the highway. This is not to say all top sellers are like that but don't discount the other agents as there are a lot of excellent agents out there who are happy to do a great job for you. Good luck!